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Federal Government of Mexico

National Water Plan

Special Plan

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Federal Government of Mexico

National Water Plan 2014-2018 (Original title in Spanish: Progama Nacional Hídrico, 2014-2018) Copyright © Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. All rights reserved. Boulevard Adolfo Ruiz Cortines No. 4209 Col. Jardines en la Montaña C.P. 14210, Tlalpan, México, D.F. Comisión Nacional del Agua Insurgentes Sur No. 2416 Col. Copilco el Bajo C.P. 04340, Coyoacán, México, D.F. Printed and made in Mexico. Free distribution. Not for sale. Prohibited for uses other than social development. The reproduction of the unaltered contents of this work is authorized provided it is not for profit and the source is cited.

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Foreword This National Water Plan was drawn up in 2013 and is based on various core components: O

The National Development Plan (PND 2013-2018), published in May 2013.

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The water sector planning system.

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The collaboration and contribution of the different sectors comprising the Federal Government.

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The expert review by water specialists from various professional disciplines.

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A regional public consultation process with the participation of water users, academics, civil society organizations, media, legislators, and specialists, generating numerous initiatives.

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An in-depth review by the secretariats of state involved in the issues, especially the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) and the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat).

The Plan adheres closely to the schedules, structure, content, and other guidelines and characteristics defined by the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit—the government department legally responsible for the heading and orienting the efforts leading to the plans and programs of the Federal Government. This Plan is called the National Water Plan 2014-2018 (PNH 2014-2018) on account of its date of publication. However, its structure, baseline, indicators, and targets, as well as the proposals contained in or deriving from the objectives, strategies, and lines of action, all correspond to the 20132018 period. Within this context, the result of this collective effort is hereby presented as: The National Water Plan.

Mexico City, April 2014

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Table of Contents Message from the President of the United Mexican States

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Message from the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat)

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Message from the Director-General of the National Water Commission (Conagua)

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Introduction

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Regulatory Framework

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Chapter I. Diagnosis

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Chapter II. Alignment with National Goals

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Chapter III. Objectives, Strategies, and Lines of Action

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Objective 1. To strengthen integrated and sustainable water management

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Objective 2. To increase water security against droughts and floods

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Objective 3. To improve water supply and access to drinking water, sewerage, and sanitation services

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Objective 4. To increase the sector’s technical, scientific, and technological capacities

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Objective 5. To ensure sustainable water availability for agricultural irrigation, energy, industry, tourism, and other economic and financial activities

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Objective 6. To consolidate Mexico’s international involvement in water issues

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III.1 Cross-cutting strategies

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Chapter IV. Indicators

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Transparency

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Glossary of Terms

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Acronyms and Abbreviations

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Annexes

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Enrique Peña Nieto President of the United Mexican States

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Message Mexico’s federal government is fully committed to building a more prosperous and inclusive country. Alongside local governments, we are working to ensure that Mexico’s entire population has full access to basic services, water in particular; a vital resource for families to be able to flourish. We understand the enormity of the challenge lying ahead. Over the course of its history, Mexico has faced a complex water situation with serious droughts, water shortages, and floods. We must therefore redouble our efforts so that every Mexican has access to drinking water, drainage, and sanitation services, and is able to tackle the adverse impacts of climate change. With these aims in mind, we have begun a major infrastructure program with the participation of the private sector as well as of state and municipal governments. However, this work must be complemented with specific medium- and long-term actions: the rational use of aquifers and improvements to the environmental conditions of watersheds, in order to promote Mexico’s water sustainability. Thanks to the hard work and contributions of academics, experts, civil society organizations and those working at the National Water Commission (Conagua), the National Water Plan establishes strategies and lines of action to achieve greater efficiency and sustainability in the use of this vital liquid. This invaluable planning instrument, which will define water policy for the decades to come, will help to improve the entire country’s social and financial situation. With more water, Mexico will continue moving ahead.

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Puente de Dios, San Luis Potosí.

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Message Sufficiently available and high-quality water resources are essential for Mexico’s development and for maintaining the well-being and health of our population and the environment as a whole. This administration has therefore made it a priority to reassess how water is managed in Mexico, and to modernize the sector’s institutions and infrastructure in order to ensure the country’s water security and sustainability. We are working hard to achieve this goal. In just over a year, this administration has laid the foundations for a wide-ranging system for the protection and sustainable management of our water resources. President Peña Nieto has driven forward this process, after presiding over the National Water Contingency Prevention Program (Pronach)—one of his inaugural presidential programs—and during the World Water Day celebrations he announced the National Water Policy (Política Nacional en Materia de Agua) and the publication of the general agreement to provisionally suspend the unrestricted extraction of groundwater in various regions across the country. Alongside these public policy instruments we should also refer to the establishment of the Intersecretarial Committee on Droughts and Floods, responsible for coordinating the federal government’s prevention and mitigation measures to respond to extreme hydrometeorological hazards and their effects. We should also refer to the equally important reforestation programs that have been pushed forward since the start of the current administration, considering that woodlands are veritable water factories. The National Water Plan 2014-2018 (PNH 2014-2018) also forms an integral part of this system, strengthening the institutional capacity to sustainably manage and protect water. This Plan has six objectives and each one includes various strategies and lines of action that precisely define the way forward for our work. Each objective has been assigned one or more indicators —such as the Global Indicator of Access to Basic Water Services and the Indicator of Water Productivity in Irrigation Districts— in order to ensure its follow-up and close monitoring of progress. These indicators are designed to be reviewed and updated every two years if necessary. In this way, the National Water Plan 2014-2018 serves various purposes: it proposes the reform and modernization of the sector; focuses the work of the three tiers of government and every sector of society on achieving water security and sustainability; and finally, it prepares the ground for a new culture that enables the government and citizens to take full and shared responsibility for the care and management of Mexico’s water resources.

Juan José Guerra Abud Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources

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Francisco I. Madero (Tres Virgenes) Dam, Chihuahua.

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Message Water is the vital force behind Mexico’s development. Our lives today and those of future generations of Mexicans depend on its proper care and efficient use. Mexico has a wide range of hydrological conditions; each region in the country has its own water benefits and challenges, and each Mexican has different needs and relationships to water. The variety of climates and watersheds is fundamental to our natural riches and heritage, but this same situation also makes us vulnerable to the effects of hydrometeorological hazards, such as droughts and floods. Therefore, we have an enormous responsibility to plan our actions properly in order to manage our national water resources constantly, sustainably and responsibly, considering climate change, demographic growth, industrial and agricultural needs, and public-urban water supply. This document not only reflects the strategies and lines of action for public policies but also Mexico’s collective awareness about water and aspirations for the path we must follow to ensure joined-up management and proper control over water resources. For the first time ever, this Plan contains a national water policy that includes the participation of various government agencies and tiers to work together on its implementation. It is designed to be reviewed every two years, so that strategies can be redefined according to the results and progress achieved. The years ahead will be critical in moving toward a new stage in prevention, efficient usage, and improved services. This will require far-reaching changes in the sector and legal reforms to help us build up our capacities and create the tools with which to tackle the challenges lying ahead of us, so that water may continue to be the driving force to move Mexico forward.

David Korenfeld Federman Director-General of the National Water Commission

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Apatlaco Waterfall, Puebla.

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Introduction In today’s world, water must be appreciated as a vital element that helps Mexicans to live in peace, to avoid conflicts and give security to all; it must contribute to social justice, so that all Mexicans have access to sufficient, readily available, high-quality water, and the opportunity to exercise their human right that is enshrined in Article 4 of the Mexican Constitution; it must be a force to reduce poverty in Mexico and promote people’s wellbeing.

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Water is an asset for sustainable development.

precisely the need to embark on a rigorous, allencompassing reform of the Mexican water sector, as an initiative of the current Federal Public Administration. This must be accompanied by a strong and sustained modernization of various pillars of Mexico’s water development.

Water must also help effect a change in our culture and education to make Mexico a society of shared knowledge with a commitment to build the Mexico we all want; it must also continue to be the driving force behind sustainable development, which is essential for economic growth in terms of an increasingly productive use and management of the resource; and finally, it must be the element that inspires a sense of global responsibility, so that we can become an international beacon of excellence in the management, administration and integrated handling of water.

The scope and vision of this comprehensive reform, alongside modernization processes, are so far-reaching that they warrant special treatment. Therefore, this shall be the approach to tackling both elements in relation to the current planning exercise. However, it should be pointed out that these two critical elements— the comprehensive reform and modernization of the Mexican water sector—are central to this Plan.

A Comprehensive Reform of the Mexican Water Sector

Multisectoral Approach

The National Water Plan 2014-2018 (PNH 2014-2018) is based on its underpinning strategic and critical elements that shape it and explain its very reason for being, in response to current water needs and those anticipated both by the current Federal Public Administration (APF) and for the challenges that are likely to arise in the following three or four decades, aligned with or as a product of the processes of national growth and development, a s we l l a s d u e to t h e e f fe c t s o f M e x i co ’ s increasing interaction with other nations around the world as part of globalization processes.

The federal government of Mexico has created an overarching strategy in which water security and the human right to water and basic sanitation services are all essential. This involves providing objective and well-planned support to the population by improving every aspect of water management, including the provision of water services in human settlements and in rural areas. With this approach, work will be undertaken by sectors and by watersheds, collaborating productively and extensively with the different states and their municipalities, with the support of an institutional mainstreaming approach that must evolve and endure.

In this sense, a key element for the structure and underpinnings of the PNH 2014-2018 is

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The federal government considers that the Mexican water sector requires a comprehensive reform.

The National Development Plan 2013-2018 (PND 2013-2018) and this global strategy are the foundations for the PNH 2014-2018. For its implementation, it is clearly necessary to undertake a complete transformation of the Mexican water sector, beginning with its definitive integration, in order to provide it with existence, meaning and future scope. This transformation requires implementing crucial reforms as well as elements of modernization that are essential in order to succeed in the overall objective for the sector: attaining water security and sustainability in Mexico. Within this strategic vision, reforms shall be oriented with a view to take full advantage of the components of the PNH 2014-2018 as a central instrument for developing water resources in Mexico.

Lázaro Cárdenas Dam, Tlaxcala.

especially in those localities with more precarious water, economic, sanitary and human conditions, as well as in geographical areas facing greater risks of adverse effects on water as a result of climate change or climate variability.

The Mexican State has been gradually articulating and improving its vision for water over the past decades; it has given priority to implementing a water development agenda that enjoys increasingly closer ties with the environment, biodiversity, land management, energy, climate, agriculture, land use, and economic development. Furthermore, it has embarked on a series of important reforms (legal, institutional, financial, water planning and human resources management) in relation to the water sector, and also made the improvements and additions to water infrastructure that are required for Mexico’s development.

It is therefore important to collect and synthesize the Mexican government’s vision and society’s conceptualizations about water as a scarce, strategic and also essential resource to support the growth of the economy and society, to drive forward local, regional, and national sustainable development, and as a critical component of national security. In order to overcome the great and complex water-related challenges, it is crucial to combine efforts, skills, and resources and to change the traditional way of relating to it. In other words, water should no longer be viewed as an infinite resource, but rather as one that is scarce, expensive and that needs responsible management.

Mexico is prepared to make the necessary efforts to improve water resource management,

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The PNH 2014-2018 draws together the work and experiences of government and society to achieve a comprehensive water resources management, to devise a formula for water development that is compatible across the political spectrum, and with social perceptions and demands, gender and financial inequalities, environmental challenges, and the need to gradually shape a new Mexico that is fairer, more productive, more aware, and in harmony with its environment.

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In this context, the PNH 2014-2018 is a longterm planning instrument that charts the way forward and defines the elements needed to achieve water security and sustainability in Mexico. It establishes objectives, strategies and lines of action, the progress and results of which must be assessed every two years in order to update it as seen fit.

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Therefore, in accordance with the Planning Law, this Plan has been given a special plan status. It has a multisectoral approach, given the need for more than one sector-coordinating agency for this purpose and, above all, for its implementation. Water is a part of every sector in Mexico. The PNH 2014-2018 sets out to address problems of gender inequality interpreted in relation to the national reality, and it also responds to the demands of marginalized social groups.

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The challenges of water go beyond the water sector and affect most spheres of the Federal Public Administration.

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The Mexican water sector will also be making successful progress towards finding opportunities and synergies with Mexican society in several areas in order to improve the management and protection of the country’s water resources. In this sense, mechanisms will be in place to facilitate and strengthen relations with legislators, academics, the private sector, civil society organizations, media, including elements of education, communication and dissemination. This will combine to help the sector achieve excellence in its water management and sustainable development using water resources.

It also indicates the reforms and modernization needed in areas such as institutional organization, planning, legislation, regulation, financing and other similarly important issues. Therefore, the investment portfolio of the sector— which includes federal and state government authorities, as well as other actors in the sector—must be aligned with this instrument and the budgetary programs for water.

Looking Ahead to 2018 On the basis of the planning instrument contained in the PNH 2014-2018, the groundwork will be complete and progress made on implementing the complete structural change as required for the Mexican water sector. The Mexican water sector will have been properly established, with cross-cutting mechanisms in place to ensure the joined-up work of the departments, agencies, organizations and institutions which together comprise the sector as a whole. The political and administrative elements needed for a productive relationship between the three tiers of government on the issue of water will be instituted through suitable mechanisms such as agreements, operating rules, special programs applicable to defined areas of land, as well as specific actions and projects for these purposes.

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In this way, strong progress will have been made and concrete results achieved in the classic areas of water development: water services for human settlements and in rural areas, with strides taken to ensure water security for the benefit of inhabitants and productive regions. Governance and governability will also have improved and become strengthened, and water resources will be controlled through more effective institutions with the closer involvement and commitment of political and social actors. A robust and modern system for planning, programming, budgeting, implementing, following up, and assessing will be in place, driving the sector forward to increase levels of development and to contribute to the Mexican population’s quality of life. Focusing on a critical aspect for the development of the Mexican water sector, improvements and innovations will have been made to systems for measuring the water cycle, and to mechanisms for preventing and responding more effectively to extreme hydrometeorological hazards.

The PNH 2014-2018 is multisectoral, making it one of the most important water planning reforms.

A solid and well-developed basis will have been established, applying the sector’s indicators of results so that government authorities and society can swiftly find out reliable information on the progress, challenges, and opportunities in relation to water resources in Mexico.

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Additionally, mechanisms for ensuring information, knowledge management, technological development and implementation mechanisms will have been consolidated for the objective and well-guided use of talented young people gradually entering productive careers in the Mexican water sector.

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Mexico will have markedly increased its presence on the world stage, with a strong and wellrespected voice in terms of water development. The country will thus learn from and capitalize on the progress made on water issues around the world, and, at the same time, will share with other countries the advantages and benefits of Mexico’s own water development model through the mechanisms established for international cooperation in order to help improve conditions in other corners of the planet.

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The PNH 2014-2018 was drawn up with a long-term vision. The objectives, strategies, and lines of action must be taken beyond the end of the current administration period.

Long-Term Vision an experience that the country has been able to draw from over the past 38 years, ever since the period of the first National Water Plan of 1975.

It should be stressed that the the core objective, as well as the structure, contents and proposals of the PNH 2014-2018 were conceived with a long-term vision in mind. The importance of the lines of action, strategies, and objectives, as well as the depth and breadth of the reforms and modernization mechanisms proposed in the Plan, surpass the results expected during the 2014-2018 period. As part of this long-term approach, this plan’s offer should go beyond this period. It is strongly suggested that the reforms and structural changes continue after this date, since they are urgently required for water resources to play a strategic role and offer sufficient elements to contribute to Mexico’s growth and development.

Continuity and Experience in the Water Resources Planning Process

In turn, this process is derived from a concept of well-understood and justified continuity over the years, in terms of Mexico’s vision on water, especially given the needs to provide water for human consumption and agricultural production, and in order to surmount the challenges posed by extreme hydrometeorological events. And more recently, to adapt the Mexican water agenda to the need for more and higherquality information, analyses, strategies, and public policies to support decision-making, as well as to achieve effective sanitation for the management of effluents and a strategic and practical response to climate variability in Mexico.

This planning exercise that has led up to the PNH 2014-2018 is based on a structured series of well-researched considerations on water, born of the challenges which the country has had to face in recent decades. Mexico has a long and distinguished history in terms of water planning,

The strategies and lines of action with a budgetary impact shall be subject to the availability of resources approved by the lower chamber of Congress as part of the federal expenditure budget for the corresponding fiscal year.

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Cerro Prieto Dam, Nuevo León.

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Regulatory Framework

politico-administrative bodies within their respective boundaries, shall be managed efficiently, effectively, economically, transparently and honorably.

The PNH 2014-2018 draws on various pieces of legislation, foremost on the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, whose Article 25 refers to the responsibility of the state for the national development in order to ensure that it is inclusive and sustainable, strengthens the country’s sovereignty and its democratic regime and, by encouraging economic growth and employment and a fairer distribution of income and wealth, enables all individuals, groups and social classes to enjoy their lives in freedom and in dignity.

The Planning Law (Ley de Planeación) establishes basic standards and principles that guide national development planning, as well as the basis for a National Democratic Planning System (SNPD). Article 4 stipulates that the federal executive branch is responsible for carrying out national development planning with the democratic participation of social groups.

Article 26 of the Constitution establishes that the State shall organize a system of democratic planning for national development, in order to give the country a solid, dynamic, permanent and fair economic growth for the country’s political, social, and cultural independence and democratization. National development planning must be a democratic process and the objectives contained within the national development plans and programs shall be defined by the purposes of the National Plan as contained in the Constitution. Also, society’s aspirations and demands shall be taken into account through the participation of various social sectors, to be incorporated within the federal government’s management instruments.

Article 22 of this law indicates that the National Development Plan (PND) shall indicate the special programs that are to be drawn up and shall be consistent with the main development plan. In addition, the same piece of legislation establishes in Article 26 that special programs shall refer to the priorities of the country’s comprehensive development, enshrined in the National Development Plan or the activities related to two or more sector-coordinating agencies. The PND 2013-2018, approved by the Decree published on May 20, 2013, in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF), defines

Furthermore, paragraphs five and six of Article 27 of the Constitution define that the water resources contained within the limits of the national territory correspond originally to the nation, and that this control is inalienable and not subject to adverse possession, and the resource can only be exploited, used or utilized through allocations granted by the federal executive branch in accordance with lawful rules and regulations.

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Article 134 of the Constitution stipulates that resources belonging to the Federation, states, municipalities, the Federal District and to the

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The PNH 2014-2018 is legally based on the Mexican Constitution and the Planning Law. It is aligned with the PND 2013-2018.

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Batanes Bridge, Guanajuato.

must be based on quantifiable parameters and objectives of economic policy, and taking into account the corresponding performance indicators. They must also be consistent with the PND 2013-2018 and its subprograms.

the sectoral, special and regional programs to be drawn up by the current Federal Public Administration to achieve the five national goals in order for Mexico to achieve its maximum potential. The PNH 2014-208 falls into this special category.

The National Water Law (LAN), as indicated in Article 1, is a regulatory law of Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution on the issue of national water resources and exists to regulate the exploitation, use, or utilization of these water

Article 16 of the Federal Budget and Fiscal Accountability Law defines the parameters for drafting and the approving the Law on Federal Revenues and the Expenditure Budget, which

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ment, making the process the most important instrument of water management.

resources, their distribution and control, as well as to preserve their quantity and quality for sustainable comprehensive development.

Article 9, Section II, establishes that the National Water Commission (Conagua) is responsible for putting together and formulating the National Water Plan in accordance with the terms of the LAN and the Planning Law, as well as for updating and ensuring its compliance, and proposing criteria and guidelines to ensure consistency and congruency in the actions taken by the federal government in regard to national water resources and its inherent public goods.

Article 7, Section 1, refers to the integrated management of national water resources for public use as a priority national security matter. Article 15 establishes that water planning must be obligatory for the integrated management of water resources and the conservation of natural resources, vital ecosystems and the environ-

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Oasis. Irrigation Canal. San Ignacio, Baja California Sur.

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CHAPTER I. Diagnosis

I.1 Introduction

Given the limited availability of water, demand has needed to be managed through economic and financial instruments, mainly by applying fiscal and market-based measures and with charges applied for water services.

Water is a finite resource that is essential for public health, ecosystems, biodiversity, food production, industry, energy, and economic development. Therefore, it is considered a strategic element of national security and for Mexico’s social and political stability.

Therefore, the water sector requires a reform process that complements the purely technicalhydrological focus to make the integrated water resources management process more effective by incorporating social and environmental initiatives within the framework of sustainable development. There is a need for modern, efficient, strong, reliable, and capable institutions that can benefit from Mexico’s experience with water. In order to achieve this aim, the planning process will be reformed to trigger institutional, legal, technical, scientific, economic, financial, budgetary, and information technology changes across the three tiers of government and in user and civil society organizations.

Although some regions in Mexico have enough water to meet demand without any conflict arising, in two-thirds of the country—where the fastest growing and most populated areas are located—there is severe pressure for already scarce water resources, since the liquid has been committed for other uses. It is therefore of utmost importance to put together an increasingly efficient and flexible water resources management model that is appropriate for its context, without restricting the country’s social and economic development. Since the early twentieth century, national water policy has responded to society’s demands with a controlled water supply focused on socioeconomic development by building a range of water infrastructure projects, including dams, aqueducts, wells, and drinking water supply and agricultural irrigation systems. These initiatives made water available to many Mexicans, increased the area of irrigated agricultural land (the seventh largest in the world) and helped boost industrial production (the most important in Latin America in terms of sectoral output per capita).

Mexico’s watershed-based water management implies the participation of those sharing the resource within each corresponding area of land. Since some watersheds are shared between Mexico and neighboring countries, water man-

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Water availability per capita has reduced: - 18,035 m3/inhab/year in 1950.

- 3,982m3/inhab/year in 2013.

Mexico has an allocation and assignment system in place for surface- and groundwater. This is subject to the National Water Law (LAN), with the National Water Commission (Conagua) having nationwide responsibility for water resources. However, efforts to manage Mexico’s water resources have been failing because the necessary mechanisms and instruments to effectively implement public water policies have not been consolidated.

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35 million Mexicans have poor water availability in terms of both quantity and quality.

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agement also requires various international treaties to be established and then followed up.

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occurs mainly between June and September, except in the Baja California peninsula, where it happens predominantly during the winter (Figure I.3).

Mexico has a total area of 1,959,248 square kilometers. Part of the country is located on the same latitude as the Sahara Desert; therefore, the central-northern region is semi-arid and arid (Figure I.1).

Mexico had 25.8 million inhabitants in 1950, compared to 118.4 in 2013 (population figures measured in mid-2013, projection by the National Population Council, Conapo). The annual rate of population growth is tending to gradually reduce. Since 1970, the population has changed from being predominantly rural to predominantly urban (Figure I.4). Conapo estimates that by 2050 Mexico will have a population of 150.8 million, which will increase the pressure on water resources.

Rainfall is scarce in the north and north-east of the country and in the Baja California peninsula, and abundant in the south-east and in the watersheds of the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific regions, to the south of the Tropic of Cancer (Figure I.2). The mean annual precipitation is 760 mm, equivalent to 1,489 square kilometers per year: 331 cubic kilometers flow through the country’s rivers, with 1,065 cubic meters of evapotranspiration and 93 cubic kilometers recharging the aquifers. In most areas of Mexico, precipitation

The mean per capita natural water availability in Mexico in 1950 was 18,035 m3/inhab/year and in 2013 it dropped to 3,982 m3/inhab/ year; a low figure according to the United Nations Development Program (Figure I.5).

Figure I.1 Geographical location of Mexico, relative to the world’s largest deserts.

Source: Conagua, 2013, based on NASA, Earth Observatory Blue Marble.

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Figure I.2 Spatial distribution of mean annual precipitation.

Source: Conagua, 2013.

Figure I.3 Monthly distribution of mean annual precipitation.

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68% of the mean annual precipitation (517 mm) falls between June and September 140 136 137

120 Precipitation (mm)

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Source: Conagua, 2013.

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Figure I.4 Variation of the rural and urban population. 120

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0 Total Urban Rural

1910 1921 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2011 2012 2013 15.2 14.3 16.6 19.7 25.8 34.9 48.2 66.8 81.2 91.2 97.5 103.3 112.3 115.7 117.1 118.4 4.3 4.5 5.5 6.9 11.0 17.7 28.3 44.3 58.0 67.0 72.8 79.0 86.3 88.9 90.0 91.1 10.8 9.9 11.0 12.8 14.8 17.2 19.9 22.5 23.3 24.2 24.7 24.3 26.0 26.8 27.0 27.3

Source: Conagua, 2013. Values for 2011-2013 are forecasts produced by the Conapo.

Figure I.5 Evolution of the population and natural mean per capita availability.

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Natural mean per capita availability

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70

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65

19

60

19

55

19

50

19

Population

Source: Conagua, 2013.

Cubic meters/inhab/year

Millions of inhabitants

18,000

103.3

18,035

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4

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2

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Figure I.6 shows the mean per capita natural water availability in different countries around the world.

Water Usage: (of total extracted volume)

I.2 Water as the Cohesive Element of Mexicans

O

Institutionality

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In recent years, Mexico has faced an unprecedented problem in terms of water security that has entailed a high social and human cost that threatens the peaceful coexistence of its citizens.

O

A Mexico in peace requires a consolidation of institutional power. Evidence shows that countries with successful development have solid and inclusive institutions. In contrast, non-inclusive institutions reduce the strength of the state and also limits and weakens the legitimacy of the programs required for its development.

77% for irrigation. 14% for public-urban usage. 9% for self-supplied industries and thermoelectric plants.

Since last century, Mexico has institutionalized water management, yet this process has not been consolidated due to badly coordinated public policies, affecting the actual management

Figure I.6 Natural mean per capita availability of water in some countries (m3/inhab/year).

Canada

84,483 France

3,343 Spain

Israel

2,400

235

China

2,060

USA

9,802

Japan

3,399

Venezuela

41,886 Egypt

Saudi Arabia

694

Mexico

3,982

85

Liberia

56,188 Ethiopia

1,440

Peru

65,068

Brazil

India

41,865

1,539

Argentina

19,968 Source: Fao. 2013. Aquastat Database. United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

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as well as the handling and administration of water. Water problems are largely caused by the combination of different economic, social, financial, and environmental hazards, the solution for which, under the current legal and institutional framework, lies beyond the reach of the authority that manages national water resources.

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paternalism, establish synergies between institutions for the integrated management of water resources, and seek solutions to benefit collective wellbeing. Furthermore, in terms of governability of the water sector, the problem is related mainly to water management, which has become a limiting factor for the sustainable utilization of water resources and is beginning to place restrictions on Mexico’s social, economic and environmental development.

The lack of proper coordination has compromised the credibility of water-related institutions in people’s eyes and caused a negative environmental impact that has led to the deterioration or pollution of Mexico’s water resources.

The identified problem can be summed up in three aspects: overexploitation, over-allocation, and pollution of water resources. Allocation and assignment deeds are lacking for some types of utilization, and there is an insufficient and low level of measurement of extracted water and monitoring of utilizations and discharges. In areas of unrestricted extraction there is no control over water utilization; constructions in waterways and zones under federal jurisdiction are also proliferating, posing a threat to society at large.

The limited and unsatisfactory institutional arrangements that have held back the water sector connect the three branches and the three tiers of government, as well as organized civil society, preventing the observance of established government programs. Governance and Governability Mexico’s social, economic and political stability has been compromised by various conflicts that have arisen around the use of some watersheds across the country due to increasing demand and competition among different users for water resources.

Also, some allocation deeds have expired: users either lack interest or are simply unaware of the need to apply for the corresponding extension. Regardless of whether or not the LAN allows the transfer of allocation deeds, this process must be regulated in order to discourage the informal market, speculation, and stockpiling the resource.

In the past three decades, numerous civil society initiatives have demanded that the government take action on natural resources and the environment. In order to involve organized civil society in integrated water management, the LAN recognizes the role of river basin councils as coordinators, and the water committees of irrigation districts as collegiate organization bodies, to ensure proper management of water resources and infrastructure.

Water has not been properly managed because the LAN has not been rigorously applied, mainly due to the water authority’s diminished capacity to carry out inspection visits and because it has not taken action to ensure water is utilized according to its availability.

The experience of creating, operating, and restructuring the river basin councils has shown that progress has been slower than expected in including users and societies in the management of water; efforts must continue to break away from the paradigms of governmental

Water Security In Mexico, 69 percent of natural of runoff available in the country (including contributions received from other countries) is concentrated

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In the same sense, as a unique frame of reference for groundwater management, 653 aquifers have been defined as supplying most of the water needs of industrial developments, and almost 65 percent of the volume of water required by cities where some sixty million inhabitants are concentrated.

in the watersheds of the Balsas, Santiago, Verde, Ometepec, Fuerte, Grijalva-Usumacinta, Papaloapan, Coatzacoalcos, Pánuco, Tecolutla, Bravo, and Tonalá rivers. However, the area drained by these twelve waterways only corresponds to 38 percent of Mexico’s continental area, meaning that over 60 percent of the territory has only 31 percent natural runoff.

These same aquifers are also the main supply source for the rural population and provide water for the irrigation of around two million hectares, 35 percent of Mexico’s total irrigation area.

Additionally, and as a result of the troubles related to inadequate and unsustainable water resources management, of the 731 watersheds defined in the country, 104 have availability problems. Mexican standard NMX-AA-159SCFI-2012 was recently approved in order to establish the procedure for determining the ecological flow in watersheds, in order to help reestablish the hydrologic balance.

The overexploitation of aquifers in Mexico is more alarming each year: 32 in 1975 and 106 in 2013 (Figure I.7).

Figure I.7 Location of over-exploited aquifers.

Source: Conagua, 2013.

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Mexico has an arid climate in 52 percent of its area, and a semi-arid climate in 31 percent of its territory.

Allocated volume for offstream water uses O

0

Given the country’s geographical location, it is regularly exposed to severe hydrometeorological hazards, such as hurricanes and intense rainfall. Although this increases the availability of surface water and the natural recharge of aquifers, it also causes damages to the population, infrastructure, services and productive systems.

62% from surface sources. 38% from aquifers.

Between 1980 and 2010, intense rainfall affected over eight million people and caused more than $214 billion pesos in economic damage.

To compound the problem of excessive water utilization, many areas also suffer from the deforestation of woodlands—primary zones for aquifer recharge. Other problems include the fact that green areas in cities are increasingly being paved over, preventing proper infiltration. As long as the need to strengthen and modernize the national system for measuring the water cycle for sustainable water use continues to be ignored, water security will remain unattainable.

Figure I.8 shows the flood impact index. The greatest historic flood impact and risk is found in 17 states, home to 62 percent of the population. The most affected states are the State of Mexico, Veracruz, Tabasco and Chiapas, as well as

Figure I.8 Flood impact index.

Source: Conagua, 2010.

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the Federal District, all of which have high-density settlements in areas that are at risk and affected by frequent floods.

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and extreme events. The results indicate that runoff will tend to reduce by up to 7 percent by 2030 in some hydrological regions under climate change conditions (Figure I.9). Furthermore, the latest regional climate projections (RCP), which analyzed spatial patterns between 1961 and 2000, show that annual increases in precipitation have been recorded in the tropical region.

Mexico is highly vulnerable to drought, mainly in the northern states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Durango, and Zacatecas, where the impact of this phenomenon can have consequences that range from being minor to catastrophic. The severe lack of water in the north, and its excess in the south, means that both hazards can occur simultaneously with disastrous results.

I.3 Water as an Element of Social Justice Poverty and Water Shortage

As mentioned above, in terms of adapting to climate change or climate variability, Mexico has a wide variety of climates and rainfall patterns which affect its population’s productive processes and activities.

According the 2012 Poverty in Mexico Report (Informe de Pobreza en México), published by the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (Coneval), 53.3 million Mexicans were living in poverty, a measurement based on an estimated population of 117.3 million people. Those considered as lacking access to basic housing services are those who do not receive water, sewerage and electricity services.

According to several studies, between 2013 and 2030, temperature and precipitation variations in Mexico are set to increase. These modifications will affect the water sector in various ways, including variations in the availability of both surface- and groundwater for its different uses. These variations will also affect water environments, such as rivers, lakes, artificial reservoirs, coastal lagoons and wetlands.

Lack of sewerage and water affected just over ten million people nationwide in 2012. The states with the most serious lack of sewerage services were Oaxaca, San Luis Potosí, Guerrero and Chiapas. The lack of water services in Guerrero affected just over a third of the state’s population; in Veracruz, one in every four people; and in Tabasco, Chiapas, and Oaxaca, one out of every five inhabitants were affected.

Regionalized climate scenarios concerning precipitation and temperature indicate that by the end of this century, in the north-eastern states the winter season will tend to be around 30 percent shorter, while the southeastern states will see a similar decrease in summertime length. In regard to surface temperature, all forecasts suggest increases of up to 5°C compared to the last century in some specific areas of the country.

The lack of water services is a factor of poverty. In Mexico, poverty exists where there is a lack of drinking water and sanitation services. According to the Ethos Poverty Index for Mexico,1 the income variable contributes most to a household’s poverty (22 percent), followed by the sanitation service and access to drinking water, (21 and 20 percent, respectively). Therefore, 41 percent of the poverty factor relates to the amount and quality of water available for the poor.

Various vulnerability studies have been produced on agricultural issues, water quality, surface runoff, groundwater, impact on society,

1 Poverty typically results from people’s inability to meet their household and other needs in order to enjoy wellbeing according to the social consensus and political, economic and social reality of any given society.

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Figure I.9 Anomaly of mean annual runoff for the year 2030 (%).

Source: IMTA, 2013.

Of the 107,458 localities comprising the universe in question, Conapo estimates that 22,443 are highly marginalized, indicating that over two million people live with very limited social opportunities (Figure I.10).

Figure I.10 Level of marginalization in 2010.

11% 7% 3%

In localities with very high and high levels of marginalization, the chief problem continues to be the percentage of households without connection to water mains (32 and 21 percent, respectively) (Figure I.11).

Very high High Medium

58% 21%

Low Very low

Right to Water Source: Conapo. Based on INEGI, Population and Housing Census 2010.

According to the amendment to Article 4 of the Mexican Constitution, published on February 8, 2012, any person has the right of access, provision and drainage of water for personal and domestic consumption in a sufficient, healthy, acceptable, and affordable manner. It

also establishes the participation of the three tiers of government and society itself in order to guarantee this right.

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Water and Health O

Between 1980 and 2010, intense rainfall affected more than eight million people.

The supply of drinking water and sanitation services plays a major role in the health of the population. Access to these services reduces mortality and morbidity rates, especially among children, while the lack of them is largely responsible for causing waterborne diseases, such as viral hepatitis, typhoid fever, cholera, trachoma, dysentery, and other causes of diarrhea. Harmful effects have been recorded following consumption of water containing pathogenic elements such as arsenic, nitrates and fluoride.

Women, especially those from minority ethnic groups and those living in rural areas and city outskirts, are the ones who suffer most from the lack of drinking water and sanitation services, since they are generally required to prepare meals, wash clothes, clean their homes, and to ensure their family’s health. This situation also affects millions of girls when forced to stay home to clean, prepare meals, look after their younger siblings, and collect water every day.

Water pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems. Worsening water quality harms ecosystems, human health, and the availability of water sources. Pollution is mainly due to the discharge of large amounts of untreated wastewater into re-

Figure I.11 Level of marginalization by locality in 2010.

Source: IMTA based on complete database produced by Conapo 2010.

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It is important to mention that the corresponding standards currently in force do not consider some pollutants, and they have strict thresholds that make them hard to adjust to the Mexican reality. Also, some official parameters are not measured.

ceiving water bodies by municipalities and the industry, to the use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture, to the improper collection and disposal of solid waste by municipalities and the industry, and to the accelerated erosion process caused by improper practices in agricultural and forestry activities.

Drinking Water, Sewerage, and Sanitation Services

The National Network for Measuring Water Quality, which is used to assess the quality of national water resources, had, as of 2012, more than five thousand sites for measuring physicochemical and biological parameters. Although this network has grown, it is still insufficient and obsolete, and does not measure various parameters that have a direct impact on health.

As of December 31, 2012, drinking water and sewerage services reached 92 and 90.5 percent coverage, respectively (Figure I.12). Despite the progress made, almost nine million people lack drinking water services (five million in rural areas) and 11 million do not have sewerage services (7.8 million in rural areas). Almost 98 percent of water supplied to populated areas (322.97 m3/s) is disinfected by chlorination.

It is estimated that eighty percent of aquifers have good quality water, but 40 of them have been identified as having impaired quality as a result of human activities or natural causes; 17 have salt-water intrusion and 32 are affected by soil salinization and brackish groundwater.

The challenges in providing services increase and the financial implications are considerable, since

Figure I.12 Evolution of coverage of drinking water and sewerage services (%).

94 92 90 88.5

89.0

89.2

89.4

90.3

90.7

89.5

89.6

89.9

86.0

86.1

86.4

86.8

85.9

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

89.5

88

91.2 89.9

91.6 90.2

92.0 90.5

86 84 82 80 78

76.5

76.8

2000

2001

77.0

77.2

77.5

2002

2003

2004

76

Drinking water coverage

Sewerage coverage

Source: Conagua, 2012.

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2010

2011

2012

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it is necessary to implement the aforementioned amendment made in 2012 to Article 4 of the Mexican Constitution.

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improving the quality of the service provided, and the need to strengthen water utilities in Mexico so that they can become financially self-sufficient. Meanwhile, rural areas (80.3 percent drinking water coverage, 70.1 percent sewerage coverage), require considerable efforts to significantly increase the proportion of the population with secure access to water and basic sanitation.

For its due implementation, this amendment requires a strong commitment from the three tiers of government; it must be applied gradually and with a legal framework that clearly establishes the responsibilities of each sector, as well as the financial, technical, and social criteria for facing the challenge, since the main problem, as in many other countries, is the fact that the rural population is widely dispersed (Figure I.13).

Significant amounts of water—between 30 and 50 percent—continue to be lost from drinking water distribution networks, mainly due to the age of pipes, lack of pressure control and the poor quality of materials used. Homes still use high water-consumption fixtures and leaks go unnoticed or remain unfixed. Water utilities have high manager turnover rates, in addition to low levels of commercial efficiency.

The figures in the table show the magnitude of the challenge in providing rural localities with drinking water and sanitation services through formal systems. Constructing this infrastructure is not the only problem: the supply of energy and the operation of systems that pipe water to these small communities require alternative, original technologies and the adaptation of new eco-technologies. Organized social participation is required in every action taken to bring water closer to people, in order to contribute towards the sustainability of services.

O

Given this outlook, two clearly differentiated challenges can be identified: in urban localities, coverage reaches up to 95.5 percent in the case of drinking water, and 96.5 percent in sewerage services. Hence the greater importance of supplying water from sustainable sources and

Droughts affect mainly northern states, such as Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Zacatecas.

Figure I.13 Distribution of the Mexico’s rural population.

Population Range 1 – 249

No. of localities

Total population

159,820

5,743,745

249 – 499

13,587

4,829,906

500 – 999

9,265

6,507,589

1,000 – 2,499

5,921

8,976,888

188,593

26,049,128

Totals Source: Inegi, Population and Housing Census, 2010.

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values, beliefs and behaviors for sustainable water management, and to protect the environment.

Since December 2012, municipal infrastructure has been bolstered with 2,342 wastewater treatment plants, with an installed capacity of 140.1 m3/s. However, only an average of 99.8 m3/s is treated, equivalent to 47.5 percent of the 210 m3/s of wastewater collected in formal sewerage systems.

In general, the economic, social, and environmental value of water is largely ignored in Mexico, leading to its inefficient use, wastage, overexploitation and degrading quality.

The main problems in several areas of Mexico include the lack of financial resources for the construction, overhaul and maintenance of wastewater treatment infrastructure; the high costs of electricity and of the chemical reagents used for their operation; the lack of training of operations personnel; and a poor payment culture among users when it comes to paying for sanitation services.

This situation is also reflected in people’s reluctance to pay for using national water resources, for domestic water supply, and for the sanitation of the water they use. The formal school curriculum, at its different levels, is still failing to communicate the overall issues related to water. Textbooks do not explain in detail the regional differences in terms of water availability and use, among other shortcomings.

The Atotonilco Wastewater Treatment Plant— one of the largest in the world—is currently under construction and will treat 57 percent of the wastewater from the metropolitan area of Mexico City. And upon its completion and entry into operation, the Agua Prieta wastewater treatment plant for the metropolitan area of the city of Guadalajara will be able to increase the treated flow by more than 30 cubic meters per second.

The contribution of research, technological development, and human resources training still falls short of its maximum potential. Neither does it meet the sector’s needs. International experience shows that to stimulate substantial interest in the development of research and technology requires a corresponding investment that is higher than or equal to 1 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In Mexico, this investment reached only 0.5 percent of the GDP in 2012, representing the lowest level among all member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and even lower than the Latin American average (Figure I.14).

Much work remains to be done in regards to wastewater treatment, apart from solving existing problems, which include plants that are under-used due to the lack of connections with sewerage systems, inefficient management, and the shortage of municipal funds to cover operating costs. In 2012, the industrial sector generated an average flow of 210 m3/s. A total of 2,569 plants exist with an installed capacity of 89 m3/s, 2,530 of which are in operation and treat 60.5 m3/s of industrial effluents. Additionally, 63 m3/s were treated by using wetlands, raising the treated flow to 58.8 percent.

I.4 Developing a Water Culture with an Informed and Participative Society

The number of Mexican researchers per thousand economically active inhabitants represents around one tenth the proportion observed in more developed countries, and the number of Ph.D. graduates per million inhabitants (29.9) is not enough to provide the required human capital in the near future.

Information, education, and culture are key elements to change attitudes and to transmit

A dependence on foreign technology can be seen, translating into an import of processes,

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Figure I.14 Investment in Research and Development (% GDP).

4 Private

Public

3

2

Korea

United States*

Germany

France***

Canada

China

United Kingdom***

Spain

Russia

Poland

Argentina

Mexico*

0

Chile**

1

Source: OECD, Conacyt for Mexico, 2010. *Figures for 2009 **Figures for 2008 ***Preliminary figures.

equipment, IT applications, and technological services, to the detriment of Mexico’s science and technology sector.

Also, the profile of people working in the sector does not relate to their actual duties.

Legal, institutional, and administrative weaknesses, added to financing, hiring, and structure-expansion restrictions, have combined to create a set of problems affecting the sector. Important examples include, inter alia, training that is either insufficient or that does not meet the sector’s real needs; a lack of policies for renewing technical teams, managing knowledge, taking advantage of experience, and creating of work teams; lack of national and international interaction; and failure to recruit young talents.

Furthermore, the technical teams and directors in the water sector, including those from Conagua and the Mexican Institute of Water Technology (IMTA), have been gradually thinning out, with fewer and fewer experienced professional staff with master’s or doctoral degrees. The systematic recruitment of talented young graduates from universities and technological institutes is reduced, due to the low salaries and unfavorable conditions for careers within the water sector. No longer is there a professional training system to encourage young people in the sector as in times past.

Currently, the training and certification of skills among professional and technical personnel working in the sector takes less account of real needs to improve the performance of their assigned roles within their respective institutions.

Today, there are few experts in the fields of engineering; socioeconomics; finance; infrastructure operation; water governance; technical water management in river engineering; hydrogeology; decision-making; calculation

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Figure I.15 Contrast between development and water availability.

Source: Conagua, 2013.

of balances and availabilities; application of laws and regulations; design and construction of dams, water and wastewater treatment plants, aqueducts, sewers, and irrigation systems; work supervision; and study and project design, etc., attesting to the delicate situation of the water sector.

One serious limiting factor for the development of the water sector has undoubtedly been the insufficient investment and funding to expand, maintain, and operate Mexico’s water infrastructure, as well as to implement measures to manage water.

I.5 Water as a Promoter of Sustainable Development

Traditionally, most funding has relied on fiscal revenue; this is clearly an unsustainable situation. The funding scheme must be revised to substantially increase the flow of financial resources from a variety of sources (Figure I.16).

Economic Development and Water The highest levels of population and economic growth have been registered in areas with the least available water. Therefore, in the central and northern regions of Mexico, where 77 percent of the population is concentrated and where 79 percent of the country’s GDP is generated, there is just 32 percent of the country’s available water; this situation contrasts with the south and south-eastern region, where 23 percent of the population live and contribute 21 percent of Mexico’s GDP, and which has 68 percent of the available water (Figure I.15).

O

O

9 million Mexicans lack drinking water services. 11 million Mexicans lack drainage services. (approximate figures).

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Figure I.16 Investment in water infrastructure.

State and Municipal

Other Sources and Users

Year

Federal

Total

2007

19,144.1

8,688.4

4,357.8

32,190.3

2008

25,870.0

14,042.4

3,759.8

43,672.2

2009

23,712.3

12,676.3

3,511.0

39,899.7

2010

32,318.0

8,935.6

4,065.3

45,318.8

2011

31,727.2

7,772.2

5,011.3

44,510.7

2012

28,266.3

2,138.5

9,315.4

39,720.2

Total

161,038.0

54,253.4

30,020.6

245,312.0

Source: Conagua, 2012. Millions of constant pesos of August 2013.

Although investments in water infrastructure have increased in recent years, there is still a deficit that will require an increase of at least 80 percent in terms of annual investments.

In this context, the historical evolution of the federal revenues from water duties in real and nominal terms between 1989 and 2012 is shown in Figure I.17.

It should be noted that the design and implementation of funding programs must clearly and efficiently contribute to fulfilling the objectives set out in the PNH 2014-2018, and also to add institutional strength to the sector through water governance measures, including those referring to technical and administrative capacity and the use of technology.

Between 1993 and 1998, revenues fell by an accumulated total of 38.8 percent in real terms; this trend began to change from 1999, and there was a real accumulated growth of 30 percent from 2006 to 2012. At the end of 2012, revenues of $14.171 billion pesos were received from water duties, in addition to the amounts recovered through tax credits.

The challenge for the years ahead lies in ensuring sufficient investments and funding, as well as the continuity and availability of the assignment and application of the required financial resources. This will lead to high levels of financial, social, and environmental profitability.

Although the LAN contemplates the existence of a water financial system, it has not been designed or implemented either nationally or regionally.

Water Sustainability

The Mexican federal government has economic instruments with which to regulate the use and utilization of water, such as charging for rights and usage. These instruments seek to send economic signals to encourage the efficient and sustainable use of water (managing demand) as well as contributing to finance its administration (water paying for water). Some states and municipalities have similar instruments in place.

Most watersheds in Mexico are unsustainable, with demand steadily increasing as the population and its needs continue to grow. Until 2012, the total demand for national water resources in Mexico was in the region of 78.4 billion cubic meters, a need that was met with a sustainable volume of 66.9 billion

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Figure I.17 Historical evolution of Conagua’s revenue.

16,000 14,171

14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

1996

1995

1994

1993

1992

1991

1990

–

1989

2,000

Constant prices Current prices Revenue from tax credits at December 2012

Source: Conagua, 2012. Millions of pesos of December 2012.

Water Uses and Water Services

cubic meters of surface- and groundwater, and with an unsustainable volume of 11.5 billion cubic meters, 6.5 billion cubic meters of which come from overdrafted aquifers. The highest percentage of the demand continues to be in the agricultural sector.

Currently the allocated volume for off-stream water uses is 82.734 billion cubic meters; 50,951 of which come from surface water sources and 31,783 from aquifers; and the allocated volume for use in hydroelectric plants has increased to 166.014 billion cubic meters.

It is estimated that in around twenty years demand will increase to 91.2 billion cubic meters due to the increase in productive activities and population growth, with supply reaching 68.3 billion cubic meters, taking into account infrastructure works registered in the project portfolio; therefore, an estimated 23 billion cubic meter gap will exist between supply and demand (Figure I.18). This gap includes the volume of water that will be used to cover demand growth in the agricultural, public-urban and industrial sectors, as well as the unsustainable volume that will no longer be extracted due to the decreased overdrafting of aquifers. The main challenges are found in the watersheds of the Valley of Mexico and of the Lerma, Bravo, Fuerte, Mocorito, Presidio-San Pedro, Tula, and Balsas rivers.

Irrigation consumes 63.35 billion cubic meters of water per year (77 percent of total withdrawals); public-urban usage, 14 percent; and self-supplied and thermoelectric industries, 9 percent. Hydroelectric power generation uses just over twice the extracted volume of offstream water uses combined. The intensive use of water in various socioeconomic activities has led to the overexploitation of surface- and groundwater and to the deterioration of ecosystems in some regions due to reduced runoff. This situation has also caused an over-allocation of water volumes available in watersheds and aquifers.

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Figure I.18 Supply-Demand Gap for Water.

2010 Thousands of hm3

2030 Thousands of hm3

11.5 5.0 6.5

66.9

78.4 3.4 11.7

Industrial

23.0

Urban public

68.3

Surface water

44.6

Surface water 62.9

Groundwater

Others1

91.2 6.3

Industrial

14.7

Urban public

69.8

Agriculture

45.8

Agriculture Groundwater

22.2 0.4

0.1

Sustainable supply by installed capacity

Gap

Others 1

Other (IBWT*)

22.3

Other (IBWT*)

0.4

0.1

Demand

Sustainable supply by installed capacity

Gap

Demand

Ecological flow Overdrafting

1 Supply from non-traditional sources e.g. desalinization * IBWT: International Boundary and Water Treaty of 1944 Source: Conagua, 2010.

due to the predominant use of furrow or flood irrigation.

Mexico has 6.4 million hectares of land with irrigation infrastructure, the seventh largest area in the world (Figure I.19). Of this area, 3.4 million hectares correspond to 85 irrigation districts, which during the 2011-2012 agricultural year drafted a supply of 25.63 billion cubic meters from their supply sources, a lower volume than the allocated amount of 32.904 billion cubic meters per year and a further three million hectares are in 39,492 irrigation units, with an allocated volume of 29.192 billion cubic meters.

In recent years, water productivity has increased from 1.41 kilograms per cubic meter in 2006 to 1.86 kilograms per cubic meter in 2012. Despite the enhanced yield from water, Mexico currently imports 45 percent of the grains it consumes.

O

During the 2011-2012 agricultural year, efficiency in water conveyance and distribution was 86 and 76 percent respectively, since many of the channels have a soil bed. Also, current water practices use more water than necessary,

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47.5% of collected wastewater is treated in some way.

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Figure I.19 Global irrigation infrastructure (thousands of hectares).

Russian Federation

2,375

France

2,642

Kazakhstan Uzbekistan

2,066

Afganistan

4,198

Spain

3,208

3,470

China Bangladesh

United States of America

Italy

26,644

3,951

62,938

6,595

Japan

2,500

Turkey

5,340

Vietnam

Egypt

Thailand

3,422

Mexico

6,415

4,585

Pakistan

6,382

21,240

Brazil

5,400

South Africa

Indonesia

9,855

Iran (Islamic Republic)

India

8,700

66,334

1,670

Source: Conagua, 2013. With information from the AQUASTAT database. United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. The data corresponds to different years between 2002 and 2012, depending on the country.

In the tropical and subtropical planes with abundant precipitation, 2,860,000 hectares of land in 23 technified rainfed districts are under federal control, with road networks and infrastructure to evacuate surplus water.

cubic meters per year), it pollutes the equivalent amount of 300 million inhabitants in terms of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5). Industrial water pollution is greater along Mexico’s northern border, where a large number of maquiladoras and general industries have been set up, causing serious environmental damage.

Annually, thermoelectric power generation uses 4.077 billion cubic meters of water and hydroelectric plants are allocated 166.014 billion cubic meters.

Finally, regarding tourism, although Mexico remains a leading tourist destination, it has fallen in the World Tourism Organization’s rankings from seventh place in 2000 to thirteenth in 2012, in terms of the number of international tourist arrivals, and from twelfth to twentyfourth in terms of foreign currency earnings. This sector has traditionally required increasing water and sanitation services.

In 2011, according to the Secretariat of Energy’s (SE) Electricity Sector Outlook (20122016), 13.8 percent of electricity was generated in the country’s large hydroelectric plants. Significant but as-yet-unexplored potential exists for generating electricity in small-scale hydroelectric plants, with production capacity not exceeding 30 megawatts.

Figure I.20 details Mexico’s most important types of water infrastructure to provide the water needed for the various uses.

Although self-supplied industry only consumes four percent of total drafted water (3.325 billion

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Figure I.20 Water infrastructure.

Storage    

 

Dams and water retention berms 3

Capacity at NPE (Mm )

Hydroagricultural  

Irrigation districts

 

Total surface area (Millions of hectares)

 

Irrigation units

 

Total surface area (Millions of hectares)

 

Technified Rainfed Districts

 

Total surface area (Millions of hectares)

Cutzamala System

5,163.0

 

138,080.0

Average volume supplied to Valley of Mexico (Mm3/year)

485.0

(Drinking) Water Treatment

  85.0 3.4 39,492.0

  Water treatment plants in operation

699.0

  Installed capacity (m3/s)

135.0

  Treated flow (m3/s)

3.0

96.0

Treatment

23.0

Municipal wastewater treatment (%)

2.8

  Municipal treatment plants in operation

Drinking Water Coverage (%)

  National

92.0

  Installed capacity (m3/s)

  Urban mean

95.5

  Treated flow (m3/s)

  Rural mean

80.3

  Industrial treatment plants in operation

Sanitation Coverage (%)

47.5 2,342.0 140.1 99.8 2,530.0

  National

90.5

  Installed capacity (m3/s)

74.9

  Urban mean

96.5

  Treated flow (m3/s)

60.5

  Rural mean

70.1

Flood Protection

Conveyance

  Aqueducts (length in km)   Capacity (m3/s)

> 3,000.0

 

112.0

Regional Emergency Response Centers in Operation

20.0

Source: Conagua, 2012.

Investment Projects and Studies

However, the constructed infrastructure is still insufficient, given the problems of obsolescence, high operating costs, as well as a growing opposition to the construction of new projects due to political and social problems.

The lack of studies and projects is an unresolved water management problem, and one that seriously affects the investment process. It is hard to comply with the government budgets within the fiscal year; the cost of constructions increases as a result of substandard projects or projects carried out too hastily, situations which, among other things, thwart any chance of a properly organized planning process.

The reuse of treated municipal wastewater has increased in recent years in Mexico, generally in agriculture, industry and municipal services, mainly for the irrigation of green urban areas. Of the total volume of treated water—3.146 billion cubic meters—only 33 percent is reused, 7.8 percent of which is exchanged for first-use water, recovering flows for priority areas such as for public-urban usage. Also, approximately 60 cubic meters per second of untreated wastewater is used for agricultural irrigation.

Furthermore, not enough investments have been allocated for studies and projects, resulting in a weak project portfolio.

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Atotonilco Wastewater Treatment Plant (the largest of its type in the world), Hidalgo.

I.6 Mexico as a Global Player on Water Issues

standing and influence, with its unique contribution to water resources management models.

For decades Mexico has participated in various international forums dealing with water and its management, as well as in various meetings and technical missions, and it is highly regarded for its work. However, due to the low level of importance given domestically to Mexico’s progress on water issues, it has kept a low profile and chosen to avoid taking responsibility, sharing experiences or cooperating with other countries.

Up until recently, Mexico’s positive presence and influence in terms of water issues has largely been wasted. Suffice it to mention Mexico’s importance and its water development for other Latin American countries that look to Mexico to find out more about its progress, results and management models in their search for solutions to their own situations. Mexico is able and has the historical need to open up and share experiences, knowledge, lessons learned, best practices, and processes that may be emulated in other countries.

It is worthwhile and even strategically necessary to formulate a clear and solid public policy with which Mexico can position itself on the global stage, with increasing firmness and consistency, based on its wealth of experience and knowledge on handling water resources, and making the most of the growing opportunities available to the country to increase its international

Mexico must have the confidence to make its voice heard at international events on water issues. It must work hard through a solid public policy and well-supported strategies to become a reference point for water issues in the

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Mexico is one of the world’s fifteen largest economies, a member of the OECD and of the G-20. It is also a reference point for other countries for water development, albeit still with a small voice compared to other countries that boast about their latest achievements with water—which Mexico has often already implemented; indeed, other countries’ achievements are sometimes the result of Mexico’s own expertise and successful handling of water issues.

Mexico’s national water demand is 78.4 billion m3.

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11.5 billion m3 of water are supplied under unsustainable conditions.

In conclusion, these results aim to support a public policy of promoting Mexico’s presence on the world stage on water issues, and thus contribute in this regard to the overall national guidelines set out in the PND 2013-2018: to raise Mexico’s profile internationally and to participate in new international roles in which Mexico sets an important example for the world.

developing world, due to its multifaceted and wide range of proposals, built projects, and major achievements, as well as practices that proved unsuccessful and were subsequently abandoned.

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Río Nazas, flowing through Coahuila.

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Chapter II. Alignment with National Goals The National Development Plan (PND 20132018) is the roadmap drawn up by society and the federal government of Mexico to walk together toward a new stage for the country. It contains the national goals, the overarching objectives of public policies, and specific actions to bring Mexico to its maximum potential.

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In line with the PND 2013-2018, five guidelines have been established for Mexico’s water sector: 1. Water as the cohesive element of Mexicans. 2. Water as an element of social justice. 3. Developing a water culture with an informed and participative society. 4. Water as a promoter of sustainable development. 5. Mexico as a global player on water issues.

The implementation of this Plan requires the participation of the following departments, agencies and organizations have participated in the implementation of this Plan: - Secretariat of the Interior (Segob) - Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE) - Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) - Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) - Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) - Secretariat of Social Development (Sedesol) - Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) - Secretariat of Energy (Sener) - Secretariat of Economy (SE) - Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (Sagarpa) - Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT) - Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) - Secretariat of Health (SSA) - Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS) - Secretariat of Agrarian, Territorial, and Urban Development (Sedatu) - Secretariat of Tourism (Sectur) - Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) - Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) - National Council on Science and Technology (Conacyt) - National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) - Congress - State governments - Municipal governments - Water user organizations - Civil society organizations

In this sense, the National Water Plan (PNH 2014-2018) derives from—and is aligned with—various sectoral programs and the five national goals of the PND 2013-2018, as shown in figures II.1, II.2 and II.3. Figure II.1 General Alignment Scheme.

National Development Plan 2013-2018 National Water Program 2014-2018 Cross-cutting and sectoral programs

The PNH 2014-2018 is aligned with the five national goals of the PND 2013-2018 and with various sectoral programs of the Federal Government Administration.

Sector Guidelines

Reforms

Modernization

Objectives

Source: Conagua, 2013.

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Alignment with Sectoral Programs c)

As stated above, the PNH 2014-2018 has a multi-sectoral and cross-cutting approach as a result of the need for more than one sectorcoordinating agency for its implementation.

d) Figure II.3 shows the link between the PNH 20142018 and water-related sectoral programs derived from the PND 2013-2018. Therefore, the coordinated and harmonious work of water sector institutions and agencies will be essential to achieve the Plan’s objectives.

e)

f)

The objectives set forth by the PNH 20142018 have a direct bearing on: a) Promoting and strengthening water governance and governability, as proposed in Segob’s sectoral program; b) Ensuring water security in the face of extreme hydrometeorological hazards that

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threaten human life, in support of Segob’s and Sedena’s sectoral programs; Ensuring the effective exercise of the entire population’s social rights to water, in accordance with Sedesol’s and Sedatu’s sectoral programs; Developing the human potential of the water sector in line with SEP’s sectoral program; Promoting and guiding an inclusive and enabling green growth that may preserve Mexico’s natural heritage while effectively creating wealth, competitiveness and employment, in line with Semarnat’s sectoral program; Expand and strengthen Mexico’s global presence in water issues, as proposed in the SRE sectoral program.

The objectives of the PNH 2014-2018 contribute also in a special way to the sectoral programs of Sagarpa, Semar, the SSA, the SCT, Sener and Sectur.

Aqueduct 2, Querétaro.

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M Multisectoral Alignment A Scheme Scheme

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An Inclusive Mexico

A Mexico with quality Education

A Prosperous Mexico

A Mexico with Global responsibility

Water as an element of social justice

increase water 2 To security against droughts and floods

water management

water, sewerage, and sanitation services

strengthen integrated improve water supply 1 To 3 To and sustainable and access to drinking

Objectives

Public policies on water and its management Water metering system Water information system Water project and process management system

Modernization

Legal framework for water Institutional framework of the public water sector Water financial system

Reforms

Water as the cohesive element of Mexicans

Guidelines Mexico as a global player on water issues

scientific, and technical capacities

agricultural irrigation, energy, industry, tourism, and other economic and financial activities

ensure sustainable 5 To water availability for

involvement in water issues

To consolidate Mexico’s 6 international

Integrated water resources management Mexico’s international leadership Water technology and scientific research system National strategy for the adaptation of the water sector in the face of climate change or climate variability

increase the sector’s 4 To technological,

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Water as a promoter of sustainable development

Water planning Water human resources management system

Developing a water culture with an informed and participative society

in Mexico

National Water Plan 2014-2018: To attain water security and sustainability Visión de

A Mexico at Peace

National Development Plan 2013-2018: To bring Mexico to its maximum potential

Figure II.2 II 2

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Figure II.3 Alignment of PNH 2014-2018 with sectoral programs and the PND 2013-2018.

A Mexico at Peace

National Goal Objective 1.1. To promote and strengthen democratic governability.

Strategies of National Goal Objective

Sectoral Objectives

1.1.1. To contribute to the development of democracy.

PNH 2014-2018 Objective

1. To promote and strengthen democratic governability. (Segob sectoral program).

1. To strengthen integrated and sustainable water management.

5. To coordinate the National Civil Protection System in order to protect the population, its property and its environment in the event of disasters. (Segob sectoral program).

2. To increase water security against droughts and floods.

1.1.2. To strengthen relations with Congress and the judicial branch, and to build political agreements for the reforms needed by Mexico. 1.1.3. To push forward joined- up federalism though effective coordination and greater co-responsibility of the three tiers of government. 1.1.4. To prevent and manage social conflicts through constructive dialogue.

1.6 To protect the population, its property and its environment in the event of a natural or man-made disaster.

1.6.1. Strategic disaster prevention policy. 1.6.2. Handling emergencies and effective disaster response.

5. To provide effective support to the civilian population in the event of disasters. (Sedena sectoral program). Source: Conagua, 2013.

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Figure II.3 (contd.) Alignment of PNH 2014-2018 with sectoral programs and the PND 2013-2018.

An Inclusive Mexico

National Goal Objective 2.5. To provide a suitable environment in which people can lead a dignified life.

Strategies of National Goal Objective

Sectoral Objectives

2.5.2. To reduce responsibly the housing shortfall by improving and expanding existing housing stock and encouraging the purchase of new housing. 2.5.3. To increase and enhance inter-institutional coordination that guarantees co-responsibility and coordination between the three tiers of government, for sustainable land management, as well as for the promotion of regional, urban, metropolitan, and housing development.

Source: Conagua, 2013.

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5. To encourage the development of farming centers through territorial cohesion, productivity, land, rural housing, and governability. (Sedatu sectoral program). 2. To create a dignified environment that encourages development by improving basic services, housing quality and spaces, and social infrastructure. (Sedena sectoral program).

PNH 2014-2018 Objective 3. To improve water supply and access to drinking water, sewerage, and sanitation services.

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Figure II.3 (contd.) Alignment of PNH 2014-2018 with sectoral programs and the PND 2013-2018.

A Mexico with Quality Education

National Goal Objective 3.5. To turn scientific and technological development and innovation into pillars for sustainable economic and social progress.

Strategies of National Goal Objective

Sectoral Objectives 6. To promote scientific and technological education as an essential element for transforming Mexico into a knowledge society. (SEP’s sectoral program).

3.5.1. To contribute to increasing the annual growth of domestic investment in scientific research and technological development, in order to reach 1 per cent of GDP. 3.5.2. To contribute to the trainning and enhancement of highly-skilled human capital. 3.5.3. To promote the development of scientific and technological vocations and capabilities and local innovations, in order to strengthen sustainable and inclusive regional development. 3.5.4. To contribute with the transfer and usage of knowledge, linking higher-education institutions and research centers with with the social, private, and public sectors. 3.5.5. To contribute to enhancing Mexico’s scientific and technological infrastructure

Source: Conagua, 2013.

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PNH 2014-2018 Objective 4. To increase the sector’s technical, scientific, and technological capacities.

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Figure II.3 (contd.) Alignment of PNH 2014-2018 with sectoral programs and the PND 2013-2018.

A Prosperous Mexico

National Goal Objective 4.4. To promote and guide and inclusive and enabling green growth, and that may preserve Mexico’s natural heritage while effectively creating wealth, competitiveness, and employment.

Strategies of National Goal Objective 4.4.1. To implement an integral policy of development that links environmental sustainability with costs and benefits for society. 4.4.2. To implement sustainable water management so that every Mexican has access to water.

Source: Conagua, 2013.

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Sectoral Objectives

PNH 2014-2018 Objective

3. To strengthen integrated and sustainable water management, ensuring its accessibility for the population and for ecosystems. (Semarnat sectoral program).

5. To ensure sustainable water availability for agricultural irrigation, energy, industry, tourism, and other economic and financial activities.

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Figure II.3 (contd.) Alignment of PNH 2014-2018 with sectoral programs and the PND 2013-2018.

A Mexico with Global Responsibility

National Goal Objective 5.1. To increase and strengthen Mexico’s global presence.

Strategies of National Goal Objective

Sectoral Objectives 2. To contribute actively to multilateral forums on issues that are relevant for Mexico and the world. (SRE’s sectoral program).

5.1.6. To consolidate Mexico’s role as a responsible, active, and committed player in the multilateral setting, prioritizing the promotion of strategic issues for the benefit of the world and in line with domestic interests.

Source: Conagua, 2013.

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PNH 2014-2018 Objective 6. To consolidate Mexico’s international involvement in water issues.

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Grijalva-Usumacinta-San Pedro river branches, Tabasco.

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Chapter III. Objectives, Strategies, and Lines of Action Water Security and Sustainability in Mexico

efforts of the three tiers of government and society in general.

According to the UN definition, water security is the “the capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against waterborne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability.”

a) Water sector reforms and modernization

The concept of water security is an issue that cross-cuts every aspect of life in Mexico.

In this context, the water sector needs modern, efficient, strong, reliable, and capable institutions that make the most of Mexico’s experience with water. This requires institutional, legal, political, technical, scientific, social, economic, financial, budgetary, and information technology changes across the three tiers of government and in user organizations and society in general.

Mexico is undergoing a process of far-reaching reforms that will make substantial changes to the water sector and help to improve the management of water resources in response to the challenges in a country with a constantly expanding economy.

Mexico needs to ensure a water supply for present and future generations, so that the resource becomes a strength that promotes the country’s economic, social, and sustainable development. For the Mexican state, water is a priority issue and a matter of national security to be addressed comprehensively, so that the country can shift from a reactive to a proactive approach, count on a sufficient supply, and strengthen its ability to respond to the challenges associated with climate change. It has therefore drawn up four public policy areas:

a.1) Sector reforms The proposed changes require the implementation and consolidation of five key reforms in the areas of national water priority, security and sovereignty, in the understanding that this essential liquid lies at the heart of Mexico’s economy and society:

1. Adequate, accessible, affordable and efficient water services. 2. Water for food security to boost the sufficient production of foods for the population and to support measures taken by the National Crusade against Hunger. 3. Responsible and sustainable water management to guide its rational use and consumption. 4. Reduce vulnerability to the effects of climate change and environmental contingencies.

O

O

These four areas—forming the basis of the national water policy—require the joined-up

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The PNH 2014-2018 will be subject to a biennial review and assessment process. The strategies can be adjusted and reoriented.

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Water sector reforms: O

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Legal framework. Institutional framework. Human resources management system. Financial system. Water planning.

1. Reform of the water legal framework to strengthen the water sector, with all institutions involved contributing their knowledge and experience with sufficient authority for water to become a genuine engine for national development, always under the coordination of the national water authority.

Conveyance channel, La Cangrajera Dam, Veracruz.

This proposal involves modifying the legal framework, thus enabling public institutions to carry out their official duties more effectively and allowing citizens to have a greater legal certainty concerning their rights and obligations.

re-engineered in order to increase effectiveness, efficiency, productivity, and coordination, as well as to improve water governance and governability. Similarly, institutions of the other tiers of government will also be reformed.

This reform proposes the establishment of a general water law that should lay the foundations for access to and fair and sustainable use of water resources, as well as for the involvement of the three tiers of government and citizens for this purpose. It also foresees various provisions related to aspects of the regulation of water services for all uses, as well as the relevant regulations and norms, the review and adaptation of the fiscal framework in connection to water duties and the utilization of national water resources and their inherent public goods that will enable investments in water infrastructure projects to be recouped.

3. Reform of the human resources management system of the water sector. This reform involves setting up a system to identify and select talented individuals studying water-related courses in higher education institutions. This talented cadre of new recruits will be trained in situ on water projects. Those who perform outstandingly will be given access to specialization courses and periods spent at leading institutions in Mexico and abroad. This initiative will bring in specialized human resources to handle priority issues. The reform will also include an option for existing personnel to receive training and become certified with quality standards that may lead to the creation of high-performance

2. Institutional reform of the public water sector. All institutions comprising the water sector within the Mexican government will be

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a.2) Sector modernization

teams with specific technical training, a broad perspective, and responsibility.

Furthermore, to complement the proposed reforms and to achieve the vision for the sector, modernization is required in the following areas:

4. Reform of the water financial system to ensure the sector’s sustainability and transparent use of resources and subsidies.

1. Public policies on water resources and water management.

To strengthen the financial system in order to identify new financing mechanisms and fund sources, innovative uses and repayment methods, as well as accountability systems.

Mexico is facing a complex water situation that requires responsible and objective measures to be taken in order to achieve water security. To make this feasible, public water policies will be drawn up to enable a sustainable management of water resources.

5. Water planning reform. To create a multisectoral and long-term planning system that is institutionalized, iterative, comprehensive, participative, plural, inclusive, and incorporates gender equality.

2. Water measurement system.

An essential part of this reform includes the biennial review of the National Water Plan 2014-2018 (PNH 2014-2018) in order to make adjustments and, where applicable, redirect government strategies to adapt to an ever-changing reality.

Water management will improve with the modernization and expansion of water measurement systems that include the gathering, transmission, reception and storage of data. This not only refers to the physical equipment but also to the training and

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arching vision and pre-feasibility and feasibility studies.

certification of the personnel who will operate the measuring systems and the processes and procedures for its operation, and a system for verifying prior to their transfer to information systems. This improvement in measuring is important in order to make forecasts and to issue alerts in order to reassure the population of their safety.

Technical, social, economic, financial, and public policy criteria will be considered for project development (including measures for environmental issues and climate change adaptation). 5. Integrated water resources management.

3. Water information system.

4. Management system for water projects and processes.

The relationship between governments and citizens will be improved with a greater role played by society in resolving conflicts, and with the renewal of collegiate agencies with a mixed membership, such as river basin councils and their auxiliary bodies, user organizations, academia and centers of research and technological development, etc.

The national system for preparing projects will be re-established and improved. This process will include identification, methodologies and norms in order to systematically carry out the various stages of investment projects: over-

Water management will be transformed to provide certainty to users regarding their officially registered assignments and allocations so that they are in accordance with climate variability and water resources availability.

The National Water Information System will be modernized, inspired by the best water planning and development systems of the world. This will facilitate easy, user-friendly, modern, and effective access to information.

Agua Azul Waterfalls, Chiapas.

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6. Mexico’s global leadership on water issues.

Modernizing the water sector:

Mexico has a status as a global leader on water issues, and this role will be strengthened and deepened by collaborating with the World Water Council and in other relevant forums in order to offer its accumulated knowledge and experience on water issues to developing countries, both in Latin America as well as in Africa and Asia.

O

O

O

O

Similarly, technical cooperation and international financial assistance on water issues will increase, strengthening the participation of the Mexican water sector in international political discussions, as well as the relationship with neighboring countries for improved transboundary water management.

O

O

Actions will be taken to strengthen and consolidate the abilities of the sector’s human capital through the selective access and best possible use of international opportunities for training, exchanging experiences and available technical assistance on water issues. Also, Mexico’s knowledge on water will be incorporated to help solve problems in other countries.

O

O

Mexico’s leading technical experts on water issues will be urged to participate in directing groups working on international water management policies, and to support international and regional water forums in Mexico or in other countries of the region.

Water policy. Measuring system. Information system. Process and project management system. Integrated management. Mexico’s international leadership. Scientific and technological research system. National adaptation and mitigation strategy for responding to climate change or climate variability. The budget for technological research and development in the sector will be increased in order to reduce the backlog in these areas.

These initiatives will be organized in close cooperation with the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID).

8. National strategy of the water sector for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

7. Water Scientific and technological research system.

An overarching water sector strategy will be drawn up, in accordance with the National Climate Change Strategy and Law, including a historical analysis and a project and initiative catalogue of climate change adaptation; a preliminary catalogue of projects and methods for financing the strategy; initiatives

Public and private water-related scientific and technological research institutions will be reoriented and strengthened to respond more effectively to the sector’s needs and thus reduce technological dependence.

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for modernizing climate change or climate variability adaptation and mitigation manuals; and a platform for launching the strategy and devising an implementation method.

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PNH 2014-2018: Objectives

b) Objectives, strategies, and lines of action

1. To strengthen integrated and sustainable water management.

Each new Federal Public Administration is legally required to draw up a six-year National Water Plan for the nation’s water sector. This document (PNH 2014-2018) addresses current issues and defines a long-term vision with six objectives, in order to resolve the identified problems and to achieve water security and sustainability.

2. To increase water security against droughts and floods.

3. To improve water supply and

This will be the source document for regional water programs, specific plans for priority issues, and annual work plans for the institutions working in the water sector.

access to drinking water, sewerage, and sanitation services.

In accordance with the Planning Law, the PNH 2014-2018 has been given the status of a special plan; this refers to priorities for the country’s development as a whole, and is therefore an inherently cross-cutting plan. Coresponsibility between the three tiers of government and society in general is essential in order to achieve its objectives.

4. To increase the sector’s technical, scientific, and technological capacities.

This requires the coordinated and joined-up work of water sector institutions and agencies, including user and civil society organizations. Therefore, there must be a collective effort by users, civil society organizations, and society as a whole in order to ensure that the Plan is properly and fully implemented. The effort will be translated into improved living conditions, growth, and sustainable development.

5. To ensure sustainable water availability for agricultural irrigation, energy, industry, tourism, and other economic and financial activities.

The Plan’s strategies create actions that must be linked to results, in line with stipulations on the efficiency of public expenditure; these results will determine the budgetary allocation for the institutions within the sector.

6. To consolidate Mexico’s international involvement in water issues.

The following objectives, strategies, and lines of action will be rolled out in the 2014-2018 period.

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Lacustrine zone, Xochimilco, Mexico City.

Objective 1. To strengthen integrated and sustainable water management 1.1.6 To regulate watersheds and aquifers.

To improve water security and sustainability, a fundamental part of the PNH 2014-2018 includes the management of water use in watersheds and aquifers, the modernization and extension of water cycle measurements, and the furtherance of constant improvements on water governance and governability in order to increase theris effectiveness through the participation of society and inter- and intra-institutional coordination to reduce the risk of conflicts.

1.1.7 To define the limits of national growth in terms of water availability. 1.1.8 To optimize dam operation policies.

Strategy 1.2 To manage water exploitation and utilization in watersheds and aquifers

Strategy 1.1 To manage and regulate water use in watersheds and aquifers

1.2.1 To reuse all treated wastewater.

1.1.1 To update how surface- and groundwater availability is expressed.

1.2.2 To take measures to increase aquifers recharge.

1.1.2 To adapt the Federal Duties Law based on water availability areas.

1.2.3 To establish national surface water reserves for ecological protection.

1.1.3 To adjust allocations and assignments to actual water supply and availability and to national priorities.

1.2.4 To strengthen the process for formulating, monitoring, and evaluating water programs.

1.1.4 To update prohibition, reserve, and regulated zone decrees.

1.2.5 To establish a project management system for the water sector with a short-, medium-, and long-term vision.

1.1.5 To regulate areas of unrestricted groundwater withdrawal.

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Strategy 1.3 To modernize and extend water cycle measurements 1.3.1 To consolidate the modernization of the National Meteorological Service (SMN). 1.3.2 To strengthen and modernize the measurement of the water cycle at the national, regional, and local levesl.

Strategy 1.4 To improve water quality in watersheds and aquifers 1.4.1 To improve the measurement and assessment of water quality and to determine the main sources of pollution. 1.4.2 To increase the issuing of classification statements, water quality studies, and specific reports on effects. 1.4.3 To determine the impact of agrochemicals on water quality. 1.4.4 To coordinate with all sectors involved to promote the proper use of agrochemicals as a means of controlling non-point source pollution. 1.4.5 To generate and apply water regulations on the disposal of solid waste.

Potrerillos Dam, Aguascalientes.

1.4.6 To includee a greater number of pollution parameters in particular discharge conditions.

1.5.2 To promote the participation of non-governmental and academic organizations in water administration and conservation.

1.4.7 To modify the regulatory code on wastewater discharges to contribute to a framework of sustainable water quality.

1.5.3 To address the demand for information of the organized population.

Strategy 1.5 To enhance water governance

Strategy 1.6 To enhance water governability

1.5.1 To improve the organization and operation of river basin councils and auxiliary bodies to adapt them to the sector’s needs.

1.6.1 To draw up new legal instruments or amend existing ones in order to improve the current legal framework.

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1.6.6 To condition increases in allocations and assignments on the efficiency level of users (municipalities, industries, agriculture).

1.6.3 To strengthen and elevate the hierarchical level of water sector institutions in the Federal and other tiers of government.

1.6.7 To promote the increase of resources for funding water-related government operations and controls.

1.6.4 To strengthen the supervision, inspection, and sanction application of withdrawals and discharges.

1.6.8 To promote the payment for environmental services for the conservation of water resources.

1.6.5 To reinforce metering systems and ensure compliance with allocated volumes.

1.6.9 To increase the efficiency of the water sector revenue system.

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Cross-Cutting Lines of Action Program to Democratize Productivity Specific Lines of Action

O

1.4.3 To establish prices and fees that reflect the financial cost of water and promote its conservation and efficient use.

The PNH 2014-2018 is a special program, implying co-responsibility

General Lines of Action

between the three tiers

3.1.2 To increase public sector revenues.

of government, water

Program for a Modern Government Closer to its Citizens

users, and society in general.

General Lines of Action 1.1.9 To strengthen the mechanisms for transparency and citizen participation in public procurement.

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Villa Hidalgo, Durango.

Objective 2. To increase water security against droughts and floods water to the population, to the industry, and for food production. A specially designed program will be implemented so that people are better prepared to cope with droughts, with the timely and effective assistance of the water authority.

Action must be taken to reduce the vulnerability of human settlements to prevent the loss of human lives and material damage to infrastructure due to extreme hydrometeorological hazards. During this administration, measures will be reinforced to prevent people from encroaching on waterways and federal zones, and to make progress, in coordination with the three tiers of government, to relocate settlements in areas that are highly prone to flooding. Where this is not possible, road protection infrastructure and control measures shall be implemented.

The operating policies of the main supply sources will be updated according to criteria of optimization, with the aim of maximizing water productivity and implementing restrictions in order to mitigate the impact of floods and droughts. Coordinated action is required between the three tiers of government to achieve this objective.

For this purpose, protection programs for the population will be strengthened, and early warning systems perfected, with a link-up to the National Civil Protection System and other related government agencies. This will continue with the modernization of the National Meteorological Service in order to provide better and more opportune meteorological information and to strengthen or establish regional hydrometeorological centers.

Strategy 2.1 To protect and increase the resilience of the population and productive areas in zones prone to floods and/or droughts 2.1.1 To implement the National Water Contingency Prevention Program (Pronach). 2.1.2 To implement the National Program against Droughts (Pronacose).

It will also be necessary to tackle the droughts that affect the proper and timely distribution of

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2.2.3 To increase information exchange with national and international institutions.

Cross-Cutting Lines of Action

2.1.4 To update dam operation policies, giving priority to the protection of population centers.

Programa to Democratize Productivity Specific Lines of Action

2.1.5 To prevent human settlements in areas prone to flooding and to relocate existing ones in safe zones.

1.3.5 To steer the process of ecological management and to support regional and local management processes.

2.1.6 To strengthen early warning systems and prevention and mitigation actions in case of emergencies due to hydrometeorological hazards.

4.1.7 To promote a policy in marine and coastal areas in order to encourage competitiveness and to counteract the effects of climate change.

2.1.7 To promote the construction of sustainable rainwater drainage infrastructure.

General Lines of Action 1.1.3 To carry out a comprehensive analysis of government programs and public policies so that government strategies and programs stimulate activity in the formal economy.

2.1.8 To undertake environmental water restoration measures in high-priority watersheds. 2.1.9 To establish systems of co-responsibility with local authorities in order to keep river banks and water bodies clean and orderly.

Programa for a Modern Government Closer to its Citizens General Lines of Action 1.1.2 To establish consultation mechanisms with the private sector, organizations and CSOs for governmental decision-making.

Strategy 2.2 To reduce vulnerability to the effects of climate change or climate variability

Lines of Coordination

2.2.1 To increase the participation and coresponsibility of states and municipalities in terms of taking measures to adapt to climate change or climate variability.

1.1.1 To strengthen the APF’s citizen participation mechanisms to steer them toward producing specific benefits for society.

2.2.2 To create or strengthen funds for adaptation to climate change and to maintain and rehabilitate water infrastructure.

1.1.4 To promote transparency and accountability among the CSOs that develop projects using public resources.

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Drinking water treatment system, Cutzamala, State of Mexico.

Objective 3. To improve water supply and access to drinking water, sewerage, and sanitation services The state faces a major challenge for municipalities to provide the population drinking water, drainage, sewerage, and wastewater treatment and disponsal services, and to comply with the human right to water regarding access to sufficient, healthy, acceptable and afordable water.

Achieving this objective requires the joint and coordinated participation of several institutions at the different tiers of government and in society at large, each one of which must assume its respective responsibility and act according to its mandates and sphere of competence.

A proportion of the rural population is scattered across small localities. Therefore, alternative systems will be developed to bring water closer to them, such as the use of public hydrants and rainwater harvesting. Basic sanitation services will also be promoted.

Strategy 3.1 To increase the coverage of drinking water and sewerage services 3.1.1 To increase drinking water and sanitation coverage in urban and rural zones, giving priority to the most vulnerable population.

During the current Public Administration, drinking water coverage will be increased to 94 percent, sewerage and basic sanitation coverage to 93 percent, and disinfection to 99 percent. This will represent an additional 8 million and 8.5 million people receiving drinking water and sewerage services, respectively.

3.1.2 To supply high-quality water for human consumption and use to prevent waterborne diseases.

The technical, administrative, and financial efficiencies and capacities of water utilities will be enhanced and new or replacement supply sources will be made available.

3.1.3 To t a ke m e a su re s to e nsu re t hat drinking water, sewerage, and sanitation service fees are defined according to technical, financial and social criteria.

Actions will also be taken to increase and improve municipal and industrial wastewater treatment.

3.1.4 To create infrastructure to utilize new supply sources.

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3.4.2 To encourage the participation of indigenous communities in managing water resources for their sustainable development.

Strategy 3.2 To improve efficiency in municipal water services

3.4.3 To disseminate appropriate water supply technology, including rainwater and fog harvesting, cisterns, and pumping, filtering, and disinfection equipment.

3.2.1 To improve the physical efficiency of water supply.

3.4.4 To disseminate the use of appropriate technology for sanitation and the construction of ecological toilets and laundry sinks, biodigesters, biofilters, wetlands, etc.

3.2.2 To improve water metering systems for public urban, and industrial usage. 3.2.3 To promote and apply low water consumption technologies in public supply systems, industries and services. 3.2.4 To improve the technical, commercial, and financial performance of water and sanitation utilities.

Strategy 3.5 To promote coordination instruments that may foster legal certainty in order to guarantee the human right to water access

3.2.5 To support and create metropolitan and inter-municipal organizations for the provision of drinking water, sewerage, and sanitation services.

3.5.1 To promote coordination instruments for allowing the regulation of drinking water, sewerage, and sanitation services.

Cross-Cutting Lines of Action

Strategy 3.3 To treat municipal and industrial wastewater with an integrated watershed and aquifer approach

National Program for Equal Opportunities and Non-Discrimination against Women 2013-2018 (Proigualdad 2013-2018)

3.3.1 To improve the operation of wastewater treatment infrastructure.

Specific Lines of Action

3.3.2 To construct new wastewater treatment and drainage infrastructure and to promote alternative sanitation systems in rural communities.

3.4.9 To promote women’s access to water resources. 5.5.8 To promote sanitation and water supply for human consumption and domestic use in rural areas where women provide these commodities.

3.3.3 To promote the use and management of alternative energy sources for self-consumption in wastewater treatment processes.

General Lines of Action

Strategy 3.4 To promote the development of projects that may contribute to mitigate poverty, including the National Crusade against Hunger

1.2.5 To develop protocols and codes of conduct so that service providers attend to women without discrimination or misogyny.

3.4.1 To implement productive projects using appropriate irrigation technologies in deprived communities, in order to raise income, provide employment, and produce food.

1.4.6 To increase women’s involvement in defining, implementing, and evaluating programs and projects that are beneficial to them.

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Water Quality Laboratory, Mexican Institute of Water Technology (IMTA).

Objective 4. To increase the sector’s technical, scientific, and technological capacities 4.1.4 To train communication professionals in water issues in order to contribute to a more informed and participative society.

In order to achieve effective social participation, it is necessary to develop the interest, understanding, and critical capacity of the population, enabling people to take informed and responsible decisions and actions on waterrelated issues. Therefore, it is essential to foster an understanding of the water cycle; the excess or lack of water availability; the processes for purifying, distributing, collecting, and treating water; as well as the cultural, social, legal, and economic aspects of water.

4.1.5 To promote cooperation with businesses and institutions in order to help contribute to water education and culture.

Strategy 4.2 To promote the continuous education and certification of water stakeholders

Strategy 4.1 To promote water education and knowledge to contribute to developing a water culture.

4.2.1 To promote ongoing education and certification of competencies in the sector.

4.1.1 To improve people’s understanding of the water cycle and of the occurrence and availability of water.

4.2.2 To review and propose the reorganization of a professional career service in institutions within the water sector.

4.1.2 To reinforce water culture in the school curriculum.

4.2.3 To support the training of the sector’s human resources.

4.1.3 To set up a teachers’ training program on water issues.

4.2.4 To implement process improvement programs in water-sector entities.

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4.4.6 To establish communication channels among all research entities associated with the water sector at national and international levels.

4.3.1 To strengthen technological research and development and to create links to research centers in order to address priorities in the water sector.

4.4.7 To develop, adopt, and apply information and communication technologies for facilitating social participation in the water sector.

4.3.2 To establish strategies for disseminating water-related science and technology.

4.4.8 To integrate mass media to water resources management.

4.3.3 To identify technological advances in the international arena and to implement those applicable to Mexico.

Cross-Cutting Lines of Action

4.3.4 To promote the development of leaders for the water sector.

Program to Democratize Productivity

Strategy 4.4 To generate and provide information about water

Specific Lines of Action 2.5.1 To join up the work of the public, private and civil society sectors to increase investment in Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) to 1 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

4.4.1 To strengthen automated and information providing networks that provide waterrelated data. 4.4.2 To consolidate water data at national and regional levels under a unified scheme.

2.5.8 Increase STI investment for the water, agricultural and fisheries sector.

4.4.3 To systematize and expand the dissemination of information on water to diverse sectors of the population.

Program for a Modern Government Closer to its Citizens

4.4.4 To strengthen information networks and centers for sharing and disseminating water-related knowledge.

General Lines of Action 4.2.2 To manage the human resources process, including the SPC, on the basis of competencies and merit.

4.4.5 To strengthen and innovate national and regional water-related information systems.

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Irrigation, Tomatlán, Jalisco.

Objective 5. To ensure sustainable water availability for agricultural irrigation, energy, industry, tourism, and other economic and financial activities 5.1.6 To conserve and maintain technified rainfed hydro-agricultural infrastructure.

In order to ensure water for these uses, various strategies will be employed, such as irrigation technification, improved efficiencies, expansion, rehabilitation and conservation of infrastructure and the orientation of economic activities toward zones where water is available.

5.1.7 To measure water supply and consumption in agriculture. 5.1.8 To develop and approve irrigation plans in line with authorized water volumes.

Strategy 5.1 To improve water productivity in agriculture

5.1.9 To resize irrigation districts according to the actual water supply.

5.1.1 To intensify irrigation technification in irrigation districts and units.

5.1.10 To install on-farm drainage in irrigation districts.

5.1.2 To technify gravity irrigation in irrigation districts and units.

Strategy 5.2 To use water sustainably to promote development in areas with water availability

5.1.3 To upgrade systems for conducting and distributing water in irrigation districts and units .

5.2.1 To expand irrigated and technified rainfed land areas in zones with water availability.

5.1.4 To rehabilitate, improve, and expand infrastructure for deriving and storing surface water for agriculture.

5.2.2 To expand infrastructure for using surface- and groundwater in areas with the potential for activities with high water productivity.

5.1.5 To rehabilitate, improve, and expand the infrastructure for using groundwater in agriculture.

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5.2.3 To promote the development of hydroelectric potential in areas with water availability.

1.4.4 To upgrade and expand hydro-agricultural infrastructure for rational and efficient water use.

5.2.4 To organize and provide training for irrigation users.

2.4.3 To promote the adoption of new technologies and techniques in the agricultural and fisheries sector, including Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by means of outreach activities and training.

Cross-Cutting Lines of Action Program to Democratize Productivity

2.5.8 To increase the investment in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for the water, agricultural, and fisheries sector.

Specific Lines of Action 1.2.3 To generate financial instruments according to the needs and capacities of agricultural production units.

3.5.8 To upgrade and expand hydro-agricultural infrastructure.

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In 2013, Mexico hosted the International Year of Water Cooperation in Mexico City.

Objective 6. To consolidate Mexico’s international involvement in water issues Mexico aims to become an important actor within the international context. By means of strategically coordinated and guided actions it will be able to consolidate its leadership on water issues, through the implementation of a strategy of international cooperation, backed up by core elements of Mexico’s foreign policy as offerer and by the framework of knowledge society as receiver.

Strategy 6.1 To strengthen international cooperation for development, the knowledge society agenda, and international financial assistance in the sector

Mexico has institutionalized the management of water since last century. As a result, it can offer its vision, water management model, and solutions platform to provide orientation for best practices and to exchange technologies that may help many less-developed countries find solutions to water-related problems.

6.1.2 To increase and diversify cooperation with developed countries and international organizations in order to consolidate the knowledge society concept.

6.1.1 To consolidate international technical cooperation on water issues with countries interested in Mexico’s experience.

6.1.3 To strengthen international financial assistance for the water sector.

Strategy 6.2 To consolidate the participation of Mexico’s water sector in international political discussions

Mexico will strengthen its participation in international forums; in the exchange of experiences, skills, human resources, and best practices, as well as in the management of new sources of technical assistance and international financing for the sector.

6.2.1 To strengthen Mexico’s international leadership in discussions on water.

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Cross-Cutting Lines of Action

6.2.2 To reinforce relations with leading multilateral and international water-related organizations.

Program for a Modern Government Closer its Citizens

Strategy 6.3 To strengthen relationships with neighboring countries for a better trans boundary water management

General Lines of Action 2.5.6 Provide better training to public officials supported by international financial organizations, to improve the quality of socioeconomic assessments.

6.3.1 To promote scientific, technical, and financial coordination with water-related agencies, academic organizations, and institutions in neighboring countries.

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Sian Ka’an, Quintana Roo.

III.1 Cross-cutting strategies It is important to highlight that the PNH 20142018 includes the strategies established in the cross-cutting programs.

1.4.4 To upgrade and expand hydro-agricultural infrastructure for a rational and efficient water use.

O

Special Program to Democratize Productivity

O

Program for a Modern Government Closer its Citizens

2.4.3 To promote the adoption of new technologies and techniques in the agricultural and fisheries sector, including Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), by means of outreach and training activities.

O

National Program for Equal Opportunities and Non-Discrimination against Women 2013-2018 (Proigualdad 2013-2018)

2.5.8 To increase investment on Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) for the water, agriculture and livestock, and fisheries sectors.

Specific and general lines of action were identified for the sector, and these will be developed in coordination with other sectors.

3.5.8 To upgrade and expand hydro-agricultural infrastructure. General Lines of Action

Program to Democratize Productivity

3.1.2 To strengthen public sector revenues.

Specific Lines of Action

Program for a Modern Government Closer its Citizens

1.2.3 To generate financial instruments according to the needs and capacities of agricultural production units.

General Lines of Action

1.4.3 To establish prices and fees that reflect the financial cost of water and promote its conservation and efficient use.

1.1.9 To strengthen the mechanisms for transparency and citizen participation in public-sector procurement.

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National Program for Equal Opportunities and Non-Discrimination against Women 2013-2018 (Proigualdad 2013-2018) O

Specific Lines of Action

The PNH 2014-2018

3.4.9 Increase women’s resources.

takes into consideration

access

to

water

5.5.8 Promote water sanitation and supply for human consumption and domestic use in rural areas where women go for supplies.

civil society and expert initiatives resulting from

General Lines of Action

a purpose-designed public

1.2.5 To develop protocols and codes of conduct so that service providers attend to women without discrimination or misogyny.

consultation.

1.4.6 To increase women’s involvement in defining, implementing, and evaluating programs and projects that are beneficial to them.

Lagunas de Montebello, Chiapas.

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Cross-Cutting Approach (A Prosperous Mexico)

Strategy II. A Modern Government Closer to its Citizens

Strategy II. A Modern Government Closer to its Citizens

Lines of Action

Lines of Action

1. To incorporate social participation from the design and implementation to the assessment and feedback of social programs.

1. To modernize the Federal Public Administration by using information and communication technologies.

Cross-Cutting Approach (A Mexico with Quality Education)

2. To simplify tax regulations to improve voluntary compliance with fiscal obligations and help increase the number of registered taxpayers.

Strategy I. To Democratize Productivity Lines of Action 1. To increase public investment and promote private investment in innovation and development activities in research centers and private businesses, particularly in creating and expanding high technology companies.

3. To combat and punish environmental crimes by strengthening prevention, investigation, surveillance, inspection, and sanction systems.

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Valle de los Cirios, Baja California.

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Chapter IV. Indicators Eight indicators—two of which are indexes—are proposed to follow up and assess the impact of the PNH (2014-2018). The National Water Commission (Conagua) will refine the indicators,

identifying and incorporating those that measure the impact on water management following actions taken by other sectors, the states, municipalities, and users, and by the Commission itself.

Objective 1. To strengthen integrated and sustainable water management Indicator Datasheet

Indicator

Objective

General description

Observations

1. Global Index of Water Sustainability (GIWS)

Objective 1. To strengthen integrated and sustainable water management.

This index measures how to manage water resources to achieve sustainability in Mexico’s watersheds and aquifers, and to guarantee water security. It takes into account the amount of water available and that which is consumed by different types of users, water quality, and water resources management.

This index considers four components, and a total of 18 variables: Water stress level: 0
Stress level on surface water due to agricultural use (%). 0
Stress level on surface water due to public-urban supply (%). 0
Stress level on surface water due to uses in self-supplied industry and thermoelectric plants (%). 0
Stress level on groundwater due to agricultural use (%). 0
Stress level on groundwater due to public-urban supply (%). 0
Stress level on groundwater due to uses in self-supplied industry and thermoelectric plants (%). Water cycle measurement: 0
Number of hydrometric stations in operation. 0
Number of climatological stations in operation. 0
Number of sites for surface water quality measurement. 0
Percentage of gauging stations with complete information of surface water quality indicators. Water quality: 0
Percentage of monitoring sites with good and excellent water quality in terms of BOD5. 0
Percentage of monitoring sites with good and excellent water quality in terms of COD. 0
Percentage of monitoring sites with good and excellent water quality in terms of TSS.

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Observations

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Water management: :
Number of gauging stations for automatic monitoring of extracted volumes. :

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/1./.2%$
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)2

Z ij =

Xij - Xmin Xmax - Xmin

Where: :
Zij = Normalized variable. :
Xij = Associated variable. :
Xmin = Minimum value of the Xij variable data. :
Xmax = Maximum value of the Xij variable data. :
)


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GIWS>= 0.65 High level of water sustainability :
0.43